


under the fireworks with you

by tmwshj



Category: Cravity (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Childhood Friends, Crushes, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn, happy hyeongjun day!, minisong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27772897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwshj/pseuds/tmwshj
Summary: falling in love is like a burst of fireworks in one's chest.staying in love, as minhee figures, is when those fireworks bloom into something bigger and brighter than anything he has ever seen before.well, that's the feeling he gets when he lays his eyes on song hyeongjun anyways.
Relationships: Kang Minhee/Song Hyeongjun
Comments: 19
Kudos: 51





	under the fireworks with you

**Author's Note:**

> not only is this my longest fic, it's also the fic that took me the longest to complete (i started this in APRIL gosh) and after multiple writer's blocks, several rounds of beta-reading and at least three title changes, i'm glad to _finally_ be posting this *cries*
> 
> thank you [sana](https://twitter.com/loveglazed) for beta-reading this, ily <33 !!!
> 
> enjoy!

_age 7_

“junnie, this is my friend, minhee.”

minhee feels his cheeks redden as a smaller boy is pushed towards him, clearly as flustered as he was.

“and minhee, this is hyeongjun.”

the two strangers greet each other curtly. minhee feels the curious stare of the smaller boy bore into the side of his head as he tried his best to avoid hyeongjun’s eyes. despite being the tallest out of the three boys, he can’t help but feel smaller under hyeongjun’s unmoving gaze.

“okay, minhee!” wonjin claps excitedly, “you’re the seeker so count to twenty! the winner gets bungeoppang, my mom promised!”

wonjin disregards the tension between the two, focusing on the real reason why he introduced the two boys in the first place – for a game of hide-and-seek.

minhee pouts. “no fair! i’m always the seeker!” he whines, stomping his foot, the sand in the playbox flying everywhere and causing him to cough violently. however, before he could say anything else, the two boys were already running away, giggling uncontrollably.

minhee can only wallow in self-pity as he made his way over to a nearby tree and covered his eyes, slowly counting to 20. ' _this is the biggest betrayal of my life! '_ minhee thinks.

“18… 19… 20! ready or not, here i come!” minhee yells, sprinting towards the playset. he looks everywhere – the sandbox, the swing set, even the small playhouse that was supposed to be for three-year-olds. minhee struggles to squeeze himself into it, which made him feel quite proud of his height.

unfortunately, after what felt like years (it was ten minutes) of running around the playground, there was still no sign of wonjin or hyeongjun.

minhee sighs, kicking the pebbles lying on the ground. just as he was about to admit defeat, he spots a shoe hanging out of the yellow tunnel underneath the playset.

_aha! there you are!_ minhee thinks, running excitedly towards the yellow tunnel.

he peeks into the tunnel, coming face to face with a surprised hyeongjun. “found you!” he says, grinning cheekily at the other boy. hyeongjun’s about to protest ‘ _no fair!_ ’ but minhee quickly shushes him, urging him back into the tunnel.

the two seven-year-olds squeeze into the yellow tunnel, shoulders pressed firmly against each other.

“let’s prank wonjin-hyung! it’s what he deserves for bribing you with bungeoppang anyways. i took forever to find one of you!” minhee laments, feeling betrayed. hyeongjun laughs at minhee, nodding.

“so… how old are you this year, hyeongjun? i’m seven, and i’m going to elementary school very soon. mom says i’m a big boy now!” minhee says, puffing up his chest in an attempt to show off.

“i’m seven too!” hyeongjun squeaks out. (minhee thinks he sounds really cute.) “mom, says i’m going to… to st…st…” hyeongjun furrows his eyebrows as he tries to recall the name of his future school.

“starship elementary?”

“yes! starship! that’s where i’ll be going!”

“really? i’m going there too!” minhee exclaims, sitting up straight from excitement. he bumps his head loudly against the tunnel and winces, inciting bubbles of laughter from the younger boy. as minhee massages the bruise forming on the top of his head, hyeongjun laughs, feeling tickled at the taller boy's antics.

“aha! so there you guys are!”

the pair is interrupted by the voice of a familiar ham wonjin, echoing through the tunnel.

“minhee, i can’t believe you made me wait for fifteen minutes, i am so going to tell your mom!” minhee’s ears perk up at the older’s threat, frantically scrambling out of the tunnel.

hyeongjun follows suit, accidentally bumping into minhee and causing the two of them to fall out of the tunnel into an unfashionable heap.

the two seven-year-olds can only laugh, feeling tickled by the situation. they pick themselves up quickly and chase after wonjin, yelling at the eldest boy to slow down.

“hurry up!” minhee turns to look at hyeongjun, struggling to keep up with the taller boy. minhee reaches out to grab hyeongjun’s hand, pulling him along as they ran together, grains of sand and pebbles scratching against their feet, childish laughter filling the still winter air.

they both catch up with wonjin and the trio were all rewarded with bungeoppang, courtesy of wonjin’s mother. it was only then when minhee finally lets go of hyeongjun’s hand. 

“boys! hurry up! the fireworks are starting!”

bungeoppang in hand, the trio make themselves comfortable on the picnic mat, waiting for the fireworks to begin.

“so hyeongjun!” minhee strikes up a conversation while inhaling the warm bungeoppang. “have you watched the fireworks before?”

hyeongjun shakes his head. “nope!” he replies, popping the ‘p’. “but my mom told me that they’re really pretty. it’s sad that she’s working tonight… but she told me i could come watch with wonjin-hyung!”

minhee listens as hyeongjun goes on a tangent about what his mother said about the fireworks, and minhee finds it absolutely endearing how hyeongjun rambled on so fondly about his mother.

“look boys! it’s starting!” wonjin’s mother hushes them, pointing to a speck of bright light rising upwards into the sky. hyeongjun watches as the first flare is launched up. the spark of bright light went up higher and higher and sizzled into nothingness, before exploding into a million different shades of red. it was beautiful, but hyeongjun couldn’t help but flinch at the loud sound it made. the consecutive explosions caused hyeongjun to tremble, hands finding their way up to clasp his ears tightly.

minhee watches hyeongjun, his eyes widening in worry. _was hyeongjun… scared?_

minhee finds himself carefully snaking an arm around hyeongjun’s back, pulling hyeongjun a little closer to him. usually, minhee’s mother would give minhee a big hug if he was feeling scared, but he just met hyeongjun today, and he can’t help but still feel a little shy around his same-aged friend. minhee holds hyeongjun tightly, arm rubbing circles onto hyeongjun’s back. the younger visibly relaxes, eyes following minhee’s finger as minhee points at the reds, blues and yellows adorning the night sky. hyeongjun looks at minhee, who had the biggest smile on his face, completely entranced by the firework display.

the two boys huddle together, fighting off the cold seoul winter, watching as different colours lit up the pitch-black sky.

hyeongjun turns to look at minhee, poking his shoulder to get his attention.

“happy new year minhee.” he says, smiling.

minhee smiles back, “happy new year to you too, hyeongjun.”

minhee is glad he made a new friend today.

* * *

_age 14_

the age of many firsts. the first crush. the first kiss. the first boyfriend.

age 14 was a rough time, for everyone, really.

minhee finds himself moping around his house, feeling the teenage angst bubbling inside of him. an hour till new year’s day, and when he says that age 14 is the age of many firsts, he wasn’t exaggerating – this was his first time not celebrating new year’s with hyeongjun since they met, so yes, he was feeling a little angsty about that. 

you see, hyeongjun got himself his first boyfriend.

minhee can’t help but feel a slight tinge of jealousy whenever hyeongjun apologetically cancels their hang-outs to go on a date with dongpyo. it’s not like he hated dongpyo or anything! he’s a good guy! but minhee just can’t help but feel his heart drop when he hears hyeongjun’s voice on the other side of the line, saying “sorry” a million times because he cancelled on minhee _again_.

it’s just unfortunate that hyeongjun chose to celebrate new year’s with dongpyo this year instead of minhee – but he understands. he sees how hyeongjun’s eyes light up whenever dongpyo comes to pick him up from class, how his smile got wider whenever dongpyo interlinks their hands together, how he just seemed to emit the light of a million fireworks whenever he was with dongpyo.

in fact, minhee thinks he would have been the biggest pyojun fan if he didn’t, well… have the biggest crush on hyeongjun.

_age 11_

_“minhee, do you know what a crush is?” hyeongjun asked absentmindedly._

_minhee pondered for a few moments before replying, “it’s when you press on something very hard until it breaks, right?”_

_hyeongjun shook his head. “nope. it’s when you like someone, i think.”_

_“well,” minhee thought out loud, “does that mean i have a crush on you?”_

_hyeongjun eyes widened as he choked on the juice he was drinking. “what?”_

_“i like you! you’re a good friend to me!” minhee said defensively._

_hyeongjun laughed. “no, silly. it means you like someone, like… like-like. you know?”_

_“like-like? like… boyfriend and girlfriend kind of like?”_

_“uh-huh.”_

_minhee quietened down as hyeongjun continued to sip on his apple juice. for some reason, the thought of hyeongjun being his boyfriend didn’t seem to irk minhee, and minhee, being the eleven-year-old that he was, day-dreamed about what it was like to call hyeongjun his “boyfriend”._

_he thought it sounded nice._

_minhee figured out that he had a crush on hyeongjun that day, but hyeongjun doesn’t need to know that._

before minhee could listen to taylor swift’s ‘you belong with me’ for the twentieth time that day (hey, could you blame him for sulking?), he turns on his gaming console, trying to distract himself with some mindless video game.

however, as soon as the loading screen flashes on the tv screen, he hears the doorbell ring.

he looks up to the clock hanging on the wall – 11.15pm. who could be here at this hour? he knows his parents are working the night shift at the hospital tonight (plenty of drunkards turn up at the hospital puking everywhere, their livers screaming for help after a night of heavy drinking on new year’s eve). he cautiously pulls the door open, only to come face to face with a teary-eyed hyeongjun.

he’s shocked, to say the least.

they stand there in complete silence, minhee too shocked to greet hyeongjun when he was supposed to be on his picnic date with dongpyo at the park, the date which hyeongjun had so fondly babbled about for weeks, till the point where minhee can practically recite their entire schedule off the top of his head.

hyeongjun shuffles awkwardly, sniffling. “are you busy right now?”

“no.” minhee dumbly replies.

with a nod, hyeongjun bursts into tears outside minhee’s apartment door, right where all his neighbours could (probably) hear him.

minhee’s eyes widen before pulling hyeongjun into the apartment and sitting him on the couch, rubbing circles on hyeongjun’s back as he tried to console the wailing boy. he wracks his brain for possible reasons as to why the poor boy has turned up at his door in the dead of the night, crying as though he just got his heart broken.

_oh. ohhhhhh._

the gears in minhee's head turned and stopped with a satisfying 'click' as he carefully eyes hyeongjun, the boy's wails slowly quieting down into short hiccups and sniffles. minhee takes a glance at the distaught boy on his couch, taking note of the daisy chain on his right wrist and dirt stains on his favourite pair of jeans.

“uh, you alright?” _wow minhee, you absolute dumbass. of course he’s not alright._

“dongpyo.” he hears hyeongjun mumble before the latter broke down into quiet sobs again.

“he…he…” hyeongjun chokes out. minhee pats hyeongjun’s back comfortingly.

“…he broke up with me.”

ah yes, age 14. the first heartbreak.

minhee’s heart drops at the pain lacing hyeongjun’s voice. he didn’t know what heartbreak felt like, but he felt the need to comfort his best friend. that's what best friends are for, right? so he does the unthinkable, pulling hyeongjun into a tight hug, allowing hyeongjun to cry into his shirt. he feels hyeongjun freeze at first, taken aback at minhee’s sudden affection, but he accepts it anyways, too heartbroken to care.

“you know, if it’ll make you feel better, we could watch a movie.”

hyeongjun limply nods into his chest, tired from crying his eyes out to give a proper reply.

minhee reaches for the remote on the coffee table, turning off whatever game that was on the tv and putting on what he knew was hyeongjun’s favourite movie – spiderman. he then quickly heads to his room, taking out some pillows and blankets to keep themselves warm from the chilly seoul night.

“here.” minhee tosses the blanket into hyeongjun’s arms.

“thank you.”

the two boys make themselves comfortable as the all-too-familiar theme song plays quietly from the speakers.

10 minutes in and minhee finds himself zoning out. no offence to tom holland, he’s a cool guy, but unfortunately, he wasn’t attractive enough to keep minhee’s attention on the movie. _sorry._

minhee allows himself to lull into a deep sleep, his eyelids getting heavier and heavier, until he hears a distant explosion of sound from the window. he pulls his eyes away from the tv screen, just to see the fireworks going off at the neighbourhood park.

“hyeongjun, look—” minhee turns to nudge at hyeongjun, only to find the other boy already fast asleep next to him, drool threatening to dribble out of his mouth.

minhee chuckles at the sight, getting up to switch off the lights and tuck hyeongjun in. he covers himself with the blanket and looks out the window, admiring the beauty of the night sky, with shades of pinks and blues decorating it.

he’s watching the fireworks with hyeongjun again this year, but a part of him wishes he wasn’t, looking at the tear stains on hyeongjun’s cheeks. as the clock struck twelve, minhee finds himself making a wish - a wish that hyeongjun would one day find the love he deserved, even if it wasn't with him.

with that, he closes his eyes and drifts off into a deep sleep - no countdown, no party streamers - just the two of them fast asleep with the light of the television gently illuminating the room with spiderman playing in the background.

ah, age 14, the first love.

* * *

_age 16_

there’s flour fucking everywhere.

“kang minhee, i said eggs, dumbass. eggs.”

minhee sheepishly withdraws his outstretched hand of baking soda. yes, baking soda, just poured onto minhee’s bare palm.

at this rate, they’re both hoping to at least produce something edible, diarrhoea-causing be damned, because minhee was absolutely useless in the kitchen and hyeongjun deeply regrets allowing minhee to help him.

there were eggshells on the floor, all sorts of white powders covering every square inch of hyeongjun’s kitchen countertop and, is that smell… vanilla? hyeongjun’s eyes dart all over the kitchen, quickly slamming the bowl of batter he was mixing down onto the counter to pick up a spilt bottle of vanilla extract lying on the floor.

“here, let me help!” minhee quickly grabs a roll of kitchen towels from the cabinet, trying to at least help hyeongjun with the mess that he probably made (it’s not his fault that his long limbs were so hard to control!).

but minhee’s a fool, and a clumsy one at that – tripping over the trash can and falling onto hyeongjun. the napkins fly all over the kitchen. minhee locks eyes with a startled hyeongjun as his bigger frame envelopes hyeongjun’s smaller one.

hyeongjun is now leaning against the kitchen cabinets, fully enclosed by minhee who had a hand firmly holding onto the edge of the sink and another right next to hyeongjun’s head.

hyeongjun looks down at the empty bottle of vanilla extract, then at minhee, immediately hiding his face in his hands. minhee’s heart was racing at an unhealthy speed and he’s sure his ears were beetroot-red by now – the close proximity of it all really made minhee think, what if he just… leaned down… right now…?

and the moment is ruined when hyeongjun grabs a fistful of flour from the countertop and throws it at the older's face.

minhee launches himself backwards, sputtering.

“minhee, you dummy!” and oh my god, hyeongjun was laughing.

he’s glad that there’s flour on his face right now because his face was definitely very, very red. minhee chuckles, grabbing flour off table. “it’s on, song hyeongjun.”

flour and other baking ingredients are thrown around the kitchen and squeals from both boys echoed through the house. hyeongjun was sitting on minhee’s stomach with an egg in hand when the responsible adult arrives.

“what are you- stop it!”

the boys flinch at the voice. woobin, also hyeongjun’s older brother, was staring in disbelief at the absolute mess of a kitchen. minhee could literally feel the disappointment radiating off woobin when he pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning.

“i don’t care what you’re going to do, but i want this kitchen clean and the cookies to be ready in 20 minutes. the fireworks are starting soon.” woobin looks up at the flour-covered clock on the wall. “in half-an-hour, actually.”

hyeongjun flinches and jumps off minhee, scrambling for the tray of cookie dough on the kitchen counter, waiting to be placed in the oven. minhee, on the other hand, quickly rushes to the sink, turning on the tap and scrubbing the dishes like there was no tomorrow. woobin was a sweet guy, one of the kindest people minhee knew, but god forbid they piss off woobin. no one likes an angry older brother. no one.

woobin leaves the two sixteen-year-olds to their own devices after ~~supervising~~ watching them for a while (he had to ensure another fight wouldn’t ensue.) and it was only then when minhee hears hyeongjun let out a sigh of relief that he too lets out the breath that he didn’t even know he was holding. they lock eyes and burst into fits of laughter.

“natural selection is going to come for your clumsy ass one day.”

minhee could only shrug his shoulders in defeat, continuing to scrub the dishes while hyeongjun watches the cookies rise in the oven.

just as they finished washing up and swapping their food-stained clothes with new clean ones, woobin rushes the two of them out into the backyard. “it’s starting soon!”

they’re barely out of the house when the first flare shoots into the sky. every year, it’s the same designs, but who cares when minhee gets to enjoy song hyeongjun pressed up against his shoulder?

minhee’s now significantly taller than hyeongjun, perhaps by a head and a half. he looks down at hyeongjun who mesmerised by the fireworks. minhee passes the distracted hyeongjun a cookie, instinctively rubbing the corner of hyeongjun’s lips when the cookie leaves a crumb.

hyeongjun blinks at minhee, eyes widening.

minhee quickly grabs a cookie and shoves it into his mouth, gagging at the slightly-too-sweet taste of chocolate chips. hopefully this would be enough to distract hyeongjun from his red cheeks.

hyeongjun doesn’t like him like that. he never will in a million years.

_whatever,_ he thinks. _he’s happy just like this, right?_

* * *

_age 17_

summer camp.

minhee begrudgingly throws his bag onto the bus seat, immediately shoving his earphones into his ears.

five minutes in, and he already hates it – the bus was full of noisy, over-enthusiastic teenagers yelling at each other and playing all sorts of mindless games to pass the time. why was minhee here, you ask? well…

“minhee! you came!” hyeongjun appears next to minhee, squeezing himself next to the taller boy when clearly, there were other seats available. (minhee doesn’t do anything to stop it.)

“wouldn’t miss it for the world.” he deadpans, regretting every single decision that had led him right up to this moment.

_“minhee-ah! look at this!” hyeongjun chattered excitedly, waving a piece of paper in the air._

_“what’s that?” minhee turned his attention to the smaller boy, putting his phone down on the classroom table._

_“the summer camp application form! did you get it?”_

_minhee grimaced. “yeah, i did. i threw it away.”_

_“i knew you would do that.” hyeongjun pouted. “thankfully, i got you another copy!”_

_“hyeongjun please spare me this one time. i really, really, don’t wanna go.” minhee whined, even willing to lose his dignity and act all cutesy, just to worm his way out of this situation which, frankly, only had one outcome._

_“come on~~ it’ll be fun! besides,” hyeongjun curled up against the taller boy, waving the application form in front of his face. “the first day falls on the day of that firework event and i wanna watch it with you!”_

_and honestly, who was minhee to reject that sort of request?_

_minhee sighed, snatching the application form out of hyeongjun’s hand and angrily signing it._

_“i swear to god, song hyeongjun, you will be the death of me.”_

“yah, kang minhee.” minhee feels the smaller boy poking at his shoulder. “kang minheeeee~”

minhee clicks his tongue in annoyance, ripping out his earbud. “what.”

“what are you listening to?” hyeongjun sing-songs, and minhee feels his heart soften at the sight.

“music.”

“wow. thanks genius, i didn’t know.” hyeongjun rolls his eyes teasingly, grabbing minhee’s earbud out of his ear.

minhee panics, blurting out, “wait! you might not like it.”

“hmm? why not?”

“i just…” minhee hesitates, eyeing the ‘play’ button on his phone. it’s weird, he thinks, that after knowing hyeongjun for so long, he has never revealed the type of music he listens to, for fear of well – being judged.

“i don’t know,” minhee sighs. “it’s embarrassing, i guess. no one expects me to listen to _this_ type of music.”

“minhee, you’ve known me for long enough. you know i would never make fun of the things you like.”

“yeah, but it’s _weird,_ you know?”

“minhee, the things you like aren’t weird. it’s cool.”

minhee slumps his shoulders in defeat, but also feeling a sense of gratitude for his best friend who always the right things to say. he presses ‘play’.

he watches hyeongjun carefully, but to his surprise, hyeongjun starts bopping his head to the music.

“kang minhee. why have you never told me you liked bubblegum kpop?”

minhee widens his eyes in surprise. he remembers all the times when after letting his friends listen to his playlist, they laughed at him, teasing him mercilessly for enjoying “ _girl music”,_ and honestly, he doesn’t know what to make of hyeongjun’s reaction.

minhee sits in stunned silence as hyeongjun grabs his phone from his hand. “wait, you like iz*one too? and twice? there’s even loona in here!” hyeongjun rambles excitedly, scrolling further and further down minhee’s mega-girl-group playlist. “kang minhee, how _dare_ you not tell me about this.”

“you like this too?”

“how can i _not_ like iz*one? and holy shit, you have snsd in here too? minhee, i knew i could trust you!”

minhee’s initial fear and insecurity seem to melt away as he watches hyeongjun scrolling excitedly through his playlist. he thought he was weird – an outcast – for enjoying music that wasn’t expected of him, but here hyeongjun was, chatting animatedly about the groups he liked, the groups _they_ liked.

as snsd’s “gee” blasts into his right ear while hyeongjun did the iconic point choreography, minhee feels thankful for hyeongjun.

“hey, jun-ah?”

“hmm?”

“thank you.”

“for what?”

“i don’t know.”

“ah, okay, you’re welcome—THE SECOND CHORUS IS ABOUT TO HIT HOLD ON-”

minhee just laughs, watching hyeongjun in amusement for the entirety of the bus ride, thinking that maybe, this summer camp won’t be the worst thing after all.

later that night, the two snuck out of their tents to catch a glimpse of the fireworks that were many miles away while minhee couldn’t help but laugh as hyeongjun sang and danced to loona’s “love4eva” under the dim moonlight.

and even as dumb-sounding as the lyric “even my kidney was pounding” was, minhee can’t help but feel his heart pound as hyeongjun belted out that lyric while poining at him. minhee shrugs off the thought of hyeongjun ever liking him back, choosing to enjoy hyeongjun’s rendition of chuu’s high note instead. all hail queen chuu.

* * *

_age 19_

it’s the day of the school festival!

students, teachers and alumni filled the school field, tingling with excitement as everyone waited for the concert to begin, chattering among themselves and for many, reminiscing the old times spent frolicking the school field.

multi-coloured lights decorated the field and many food vendors lined the perimeter of the school. the weather was great too for an outdoor concert – slightly chilly with clear skies. oh, how minhee wishes he could bask in the glory of tonight’s weather, but unfortunately...

“minhee! one of the emcees are running late! what do we do?” he hears the vice-president, kim taeyoung, shout from down the hallway of the school. oh right, he’s in charge of this damn thing.

minhee had wished for a relaxing final year in high school, but one thing led to another and in the blink of an eye, he’s student body president and currently running the school’s biggest public event of the year. unfortunately, the possibility of the concert’s emcee running late had slipped his mind despite his very intricate planning and he definitely did not have a replacement ready.

minhee feels a headache incoming, but his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

“mini!”

minhee turns to look at the dancer. hyeongjun was wearing a dark blue suit with his black hair neatly parted, set in place with slightly too much hair gel. but what caught his eye the most, was the glittery eyeshadow hyeongjun was wearing. he never knew that hyeongjun could get even prettier than he already was, but tonight was the night he was proven wrong.

minhee, being completely whipped for his best friend of twelve years, fails to form a coherent sentence, muttering a simple, “you look good.” which was true.

hyeongjun’s eyes widen for a millisecond, before shrugging off minhee’s compliment with a laugh. “why, thank you. you look pretty good yourself, kang minhee.”, he chuckles, eyeing minhee’s untucked white long-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned blazer and messy hair. basically, minhee looked like a mess.

minhee rolls his eyes, quickly smoothing out his hair and tucking his shirt neatly back into his pants.

“anyways, how’s everything going? i assume it’s going well?” hyeongjun smiles, nudging minhee.

minhee hums, staring out the hallway window into the large crowd. “it could be going better.”

“hey, don’t be too worried alright? things may not always go the way you planned, but i believe in you, and i know you’ll be able to work things out in the end!” hyeongjun pats minhee’s shoulder, smiling encouragingly.

minhee feels some of the weight lift off his shoulders. “thanks jun.”

“it’s no big deal,” hyeongjun replies. “hey, i got to go prepare for curtain call now. we’ll still watch the fireworks together, right?”

“yep, i’ll be backstage.”

hyeongjun nods, waving excitedly at minhee one last time before booking it back to the music room.

minhee’s entranced for a little while, but quickly snaps out of it, thanks to someone clearing their throat loudly behind him.

“okay lover-boy, i know your crush looks good, but we currently have a crisis on hand.” his trusty vice-president reminds him.

oh right, he needed an emcee. thankfully, he’s got just the solution.

minhee takes out his phone, calmly dialing a number.

“ham wonjin, you’re at the carnival, right? good. i’ll treat you to a meal if you do me this one favour…”

thanks to wonjin, all goes well that evening. with wonjin’s top-notch entertainment skills, the concert ran smoothly, only experiencing minor delays, all of which wonjin played off perfectly.

“ladies and gentlemen! as the night comes to an end, we have our final performers of the night, sure to blow you away with their world-class synchronisation and groovy dance moves…”

minhee, watching everything unfold backstage, stifles a laugh. wonjin may be _too_ good.

“introducing, j-kingdom!”

the cheers of the crowd were deafening as the dancers took their positions on stage. the first few notes of fantastic baby by big bang played, and minhee watches as the dance crew riled the crowd up, with the audience shouting “yeogi buteora” at the top of their lungs. throughout the entire performance, minhee’s eyes never left a boy wearing a dark blue suit, mesmerised by how he seemed to dominate the stage. he feels himself falling just a little deeper.

“thank you, j-kingdom! with that, ladies and gentlemen, we have come to the final segment of the night. now let us sit back and relax as we watch the fireworks display funded by our beloved sponsors!” wonjin announces enthusiastically.

he spots a boy wearing a dark blue suit run off stage, and minhee already has his arms wide open for him. hyeongjun crashes into minhee, enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug as he bawls into minhee’s shoulders.

“i can’t believe that was my final performance of high school!” hyeongjun wails.

“why are you crying though? you did amazing!”

“minhee, you idiot! these are happy tears!” hyeongjun cries even harder.

minhee laughs at his best friend’s answer. he couldn’t believe it either – he was graduating high school, and the world was his to conquer.

hyeongjun stands still next to minhee, waiting for the first flare of fireworks to be set off. there was a silence hanging in the air as the crowd held their breath waiting for the first pop of colour to light up the night sky.

then it began. reds, yellows, purples and blues coloured the sky like a painter to his canvas. minhee held onto hyeongjun tightly as the crowd “ohh-ed” and “ahh-ed” at the spectacle. as he watches the fireworks in awe, minhee sighs in contentment. this is all he ever wanted, graduating high school, watching the fireworks with his best friend (and unrequited crush) next to him, just like every single year.

minhee wishes that it wouldn’t change, but things don’t always go the way you planned, right?

as minhee watches the fireworks, he feels hyeongjun shuffle next to him.

“minhee, i’ve got something i’ve been meaning to tell you,”

minhee looks down at hyeongjun. “shoot.”

“i got accepted.” hyeongjun says, voice muffled by the fireworks in the background. “i got accepted into that dance academy in america.”

minhee, upon hearing the good news, beams at hyeongjun. “oh my god, congratulations junnie! i knew you could do it!”

hyeongjun smiles sadly at his best friend. “thank you mini.”

there's a pause as minhee comes to terms with the reality of his best friend leaving seoul. he watches the final fuse launch into the sky, exploding into bursts of colour before sizzling into the nothingness. whoops and hollers were heard from the crowd.

minhee looks down at hyeongjun staring down at the ground, digging circles into the dirt with the heel of his shoe.

minhee clears his throat. “so…”

he didn’t want to know.

“when are you leaving?”

“they want me there next week.”

“that’s soon.”

“yeah.”

minhee only wanted there to be happy tears to be shed that night, but he couldn’t help the tears that threatened to fall from the corner of his eyes. he pulls hyeongjun closer to him.

minhee buries his feelings deep down. as much as he could.

* * *

_age 25_

“i’m heading to the store, do you need anything?” minhee yelled from across the studio apartment.

“get me some chips!” seongmin yells from their shared bedroom.

minhee makes a mental note before slamming the door shut and locking it behind him, dragging himself down the stairs to the bus stop.

it’s been six years since he last saw the fireworks. minhee swore he would never watch them again, at least not without _him_ but his brat of a roommate, forced him to watch the fireworks that year, sick of minhee repeating the same heart-breaking story of him and his unrequited crush every single year.

minhee had just graduated university, and was now working as a nurse in the local hospital. he had long working hours and was constantly too tired to even leave his house to get groceries, so thank god he had his long-time close friend, a junior from high school, seongmin, who took pity on him and decided that this _hyung_ could use some help sharing rent.

minhee gets onto the bus, plugging in his earphones as he listened to whatever song that came up on shuffle, watching as the sun sets over the horizon. minhee finds himself scrolling through his hundreds of drafted messages with _him_. with the both of them living in different time zones, having completely different lives, it was difficult to talk, to say the least. or maybe minhee does it on purpose, trying to stop himself from falling deeper for a boy who seemed to slip further away from his grasp as the days went by.

minhee sighs, clicking out of his girl-group playlist and selecting something else to listen to.

minhee drops a six-bottle pack of soju into his basket, scrolling down the shopping list he had hastily typed out on the way to the supermarket, bopping his head to the song that was blasting from his earphones.

“instant ramyeon… drinks… right, chips.” he rambled to himself, making his way to the designated aisle.

he picks out seongmin’s favourite brand of chips, as well as his own personal favourite, the one that was introduced to him by none other than hyeongjun. _ugh, there’s that name again._ minhee drops the two bags into his shopping basket.

“you still eat that brand?”

minhee flinches. _he’s hallucinating now?_ _come on kang minhee, we know you’re the definition of lovesick but that’s too dramatic._ he chuckles to himself like a madman, turning up the volume of his music. he picks up his basket, heading to the cashier for payment.

he glances down at his phone, checking off the box labelled ‘chips’, before looking up.

and it was like time stopped.

minhee’s fingers loosen around the basket’s handle, causing his groceries to fall to the ground with a loud ‘thud’. the items scatter around him.

it was _him_.

“hyeongjun.” the name rolls off minhee’s tongue easily. it was so _familiar_.

after six years, he found himself looking at the boy that he was oh-so madly in love with, standing at the end of the chip aisle. of all places, the chip aisle!

minhee feels all his emotions hit him all at once, as the love he was suppressing for the past eighteen years come flooding back. as the tears prick at his eyes, he sprints towards the smaller boy, enveloping him in a tight hug.

he feels hyeongjun smile against his chest. “hi minhee.”

hyeongjun wiggles under minhee’s iron-grip to peer into minhee’s eyes, and minhee swears he nearly gets a heart attack right smack in the middle of the grocery store.

“i missed you.”

“i missed you too.”

as the two get onto the bus, minhee blurts out, “wait, i have so many fucking questions.”

“ask away.”

“so you’re staying here in seoul? for good?”

“yep. till i die i guess.” hyeongjun laughs.

“but what about the dance academy?”

“i made some friends there - serim and allen - and we agreed to come back to korea to start our own dance academy. american food is too greasy for us anyways.” hyeongjun recalls, showing minhee a video of the three of them dancing.

“wait, so how did you know i was at the store?”

“oh, it was pretty easy actually. i looked through your instagram and found the seongmin boy that you were rooming with, so i messaged him to plan something that would surprise you. also, he called me your ‘favourite topic’. what’s that all about huh, kang minhee?” hyeongjun muses, wiggling his eyebrows as he teases his best friend.

ah yes, minhee missed this – the teasing and joking, how familiar it all felt.

minhee stiffens, voice going a few octaves higher as he came up with an excuse, “hey! i missed you! could you blame me?”

hyeongjun laughs. "it's fine, serim and allen know way too much about you as well."

minhee formally introduces hyeongjun to seongmin when they arrive back at the apartment, and the two boys instantly click, with seongmin complaining about minhee’s odd sleeping habits and hyeongjun oversharing minhee's embarrassing stories. it’s supposed to be good that they’re getting along, right?

“hey seongmin, we’re gonna go to the rooftop now to set up, could you grab the snacks?” minhee asks off-handedly as he rummages through the cupboard for a picnic blanket. seongmin coughs awkwardly.

“uh, actually, i have plans! uh, taeyoung said he wanted to grab dinner with me!” seongmin rambles, grabbing his keys as he scrambles to unlock the apartment door.

“but isn’t taeyoung working the night shift—”

“sorry hyung! gotta go!”

the door slams shut. minhee kind of regrets introducing seongmin and taeyoung to each other – those two were literally the devil’s incarnates.

minhee hears his phone ring. digging through his pocket, he reads the message he just received,

_**[seongmin]:** you can do it hyung! it’s now or never! _

minhee rolls his eyes. _this brat._

“yah, mini! you ready? it’s going to start soon!” hyeongjun yells from the living room.

“coming!”

the two boys made themselves comfortable on the concrete floor, surrounded by many blankets and countless sweet snacks. easy conversation flows between them as they both update each other on what they’ve been doing for the past six years.

“oh! and seongmin’s definitely got a thing for taeyoung! i bet five dollars that they’re going to be a thing soon.” minhee chatters animatedly while hyeongjun nods along, listening attentively.

they look down at the bustling seoul city. it was around 11.45p.m., but cars and motorcycles still filled every inch of the city centre and large billboards blared from the commercial skyscrapers that lined the city. the cool night air made minhee shiver. he swallows. _it’s now or never._

“hey, hyeongjun—”

“minhee, look! it’s starting!” hyeongjun interrupts minhee, pointing excitedly at the yellow flare that rose into the sky. minhee smiles, _nothing has changed._

minhee keeps the unspoken words to himself as the fireworks went off in the background, watching hyeongjun intensely, eyes tracing over every small detail of the latter’s face that he missed so much. he admires the gentle curve of hyeongjun’s button nose, the slight flush that adorned his cheeks, and that one mole on his neck. he missed this, a lot.

he missed having hyeongjun next to him. he loved having hyeongjun next to him.

minhee looks down, hand reaching for hyeongjun’s. hyeongjun looks away from the fireworks momentarily, eyes slightly glazed over as he watches minhee’s hands play with his fingers.

“hmm? mini, what’s wrong? why aren’t you watching?” hyeongjun asks worriedly.

minhee lets out a quiet sigh, his heart pounding so fast as though it were about to leap out of his chest. he pulls his gaze off hyeongjun’s fingers, locking eyes with the boy he has loved for the past eighteen years, staring back at him with so much love and concern pooling in his eyes.

“hyeongjun.”

he begins, still hesitant.

“do you remember when we first met?”

“hmm,” hyeongjun furrows his eyebrows. “yeah! at the playground! i remember thinking how tall you were back then.”

“then do you remember the school carnival?”

“of course! how could i forget when you gave wonjin a script and told him to just wing it and be the emcee?” hyeongjun giggles at the memory of his then twenty-year-old friend.

“then… do you remember what i said…” minhee exhales. “at the airport?”

_age 19_

_“i told you it’s better if you don’t come to the airport.” hyeongjun chuckled as he tried to lighten the mood. unfortunately, kang minhee was inconsolable, sniffling profusely as snot threatened to trickle from his nose. hie eyes were red from the incessant rubbing, as he tried not to bawl like a baby right there and then._

_“i’ll miss you. a lot.”_

_hyeongjun gave him a bittersweet smile._

_“i’ll come back. i promise.”_

_minhee felt some comfort from his best friend’s words._

_“you know hyeongjun, i think i’m very lucky.”_

_hyeongjun cocked his head to the side, confused by his best friend’s sudden confession._

_“what do you mean?”_

_“i’m lucky to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”_

_hyeongjun paused as minhee’s words repeated in his head._

_he forced a laugh, slapping minhee playfully on the shoulder. “you sap!”_

_“i mean it though!” minhee chuckled, rubbing his shoulder in pain. “anyways,” he looked up to the large clock on the wall of the departure bay. “you better go now, or else you’ll miss your flight.”_

_“yeah.”_

_the two boys said nothing else, exchanging sad smiles that contained so many unspoken words. unspoken confessions that both were too afraid to say._

_hyeongjun turned around, dragging his luggage behind him. he didn’t dare to look back, to look back at the boy that he too, loved so much._

_you know, kang minhee? i think i’m rather lucky too – to have you, which makes saying goodbye so hard._

hyeongjun remembers their exchange at the airport, the memory flashing across his mind as though it just happened yesterday. he laughs at the memory. “we were so young then, huh?” he says to no one in particular, looking out at the fireworks in the sky.

“still are. we have our whole lives ahead of us.”

a silence.

“come on, spill it kang. what are you getting at? i’m not used to you being all serious like this.” hyeongjun glances at minhee’s solemn expression, taking a sip of the soju he had next to him.

there was another silence as minhee fidgets with the hem of his shirt. the air was still as the fireworks slowed down, signaling the nearing end of the display.

“hyeongjun, i like you.”

minhee’s words sliced through the cold seoul air, as clear as day.

“i understand if you don’t feel the same. i just… i’ve liked you since we were seven, or eight, fuck, i don’t remember at this point. it feels like i’ve liked you my entire life, and these six years made me realise that maybe,

i love you, song hyeongjun.”

eighteen years of unspoken confessions, drafted messages, summarised in a simple three words. minhee watches as tears started to well up in the smaller boy’s eyes.

“wait, fuck, i— don’t cry. i’m sorry,” minhee sits up, frantically grabbing tissues to wipe hyeongjun tears.

“minhee. you idiot.” hyeongjun chokes out between sobs.

“these are happy tears.”

minhee blinks once, twice, before hyeongjun envelopes him in a tight hug.

“i love you too.”

with that, the final firework was shot into the sky, illuminating the backs of the two boys who held each other in tight embrace, their hearts full of the love they were holding back for eighteen years.

“promise to always watch the fireworks with me?”

“i promise.”

* * *

**epilogue**

“took y’all long enough! i swear it felt like i was reading a slow-burn romance fic where the two main characters were absolute idiots!” the now 26-year-old drama teacher cried out as he fervently congratulated the new couple.

“damn, you were more invested in this than the both of us.” minhee hums while wonjin drapes himself across the café’s chair.

“of course, i mean, i had to finish what i started. after all, i was the one who introduced the two of you. hey! i expect to be best man alright?” wonjin teases. minhee finds it cute how hyeongjun’s cheeks immediately turned a bright red.

_-_

_age 29_

minhee looks himself in the mirror, adjusting his suit for what seems like the nth time that evening.

“how do i look?”

“for the last time kang minhee, you look fine.” says taeyoung, draped across the couch in the groom’s dressing room.

“besides, hyeongjun would marry you even if you were wearing a rice sack.” seongmin adds on before dodging the pillow thrown at him.

“why are the two of you here? and where’s wonjin?” minhee complains, chasing taeyoung off the couch so he could take a break from the young couple.

“he’s with hyeongjun, i think. apparently, he’s freaking out harder than you are.” taeyoung muses.

“is that a good thing or a bad thing?” minhee sighs, rubbing his temples.

“the best thing.” wonjin says as he bursts into the room, panting. smoothing out his suit, wonjin gives minhee a smile. “you ready?”

minhee shoots up from the couch, a nervous smile plastered on his face. “ready as i’ll ever be.”

wonjin shoots him a quick thumbs up, ushering minhee out of the room to the entrance of the main hall. linking arms with his father, the man gave minhee a warm smile – one full of joy and pride. the walk down the aisle felt like a blur as his heart pounded against his chest, the grand organ music playing like a distant tune. time seemed to stop as he locked eyes with the boy standing in front of the alter.

they interlaced their fingers, trembling as the rings were handed to them gently, hearts beating in sync as they recited their vows.

hyeongjun’s eyes sparkled under the glow of the chandelier, and minhee swears he sees the brightest fireworks in them.

“it is with great honour and pleasure that i now pronounce you both, lawfully-wedded husbands.”

and minhee’s first thought as he leaned down to give his husband a kiss, was how thankful he was to be able to see those fireworks for the rest of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> and that's the end?? honestly i’m not too satisfied with some parts but i think the longer i drag on with this, the more i’m never gonna post it 😓 thank you for reading and happy birthday to the loml, hyeongjun 🥺
> 
> twt - [shjIuvr](https://twitter.com/shjIuvr)


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